Sudani says Hezbollah, Houthis listing on terror register was ‘administrative error’

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the appearance of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis on Iraq’s terror-financing list resulted from an administrative mistake, adding that Iraqi banks could not process transfers for either group in any case because of U.S. sanctions.

In an interview with Al-Rabiaa TV, Sudani said “no decision was issued by the Cabinet, the National Security Council, or by me personally” to classify Hezbollah or the Houthis as terrorist organizations.

He said the list in question was prepared by a committee formed under Law No. 39 of 2025 to combat money laundering and terror financing and chaired by the Central Bank’s deputy governor. That body, he said, routinely receives “dozens of international communications” from foreign counterparts that include names of individuals and entities subject to U.N. Security Council measures.

“It is not this committee, nor this country, that designates them; rather, these are Security Council decisions placing those entities and individuals on sanctions lists,” Sudani said.

He explained that Iraq’s long-standing practice is to adopt only entries related to ISIS and al-Qaida when responding to such requests, and that the appearance of Hezbollah and Ansar Allah on the published list broke with that approach.

“What happened is that this list passed through the committee and was forwarded in full to the official gazette without filtering out these organizations,” he said. “There was an administrative error, and we will uncover its reasons and announce the results.”

Sudani stressed that the move did not reflect a change in Baghdad’s political stance.

“We do not have a political stance against Hezbollah or the Houthis; on the contrary, we have supportive positions toward all movements of liberation and struggle against occupation and injustice,” he said. “In conclusion, I say that there is no state decision to classify Hezbollah or the Houthis as terrorist organizations.”

The prime minister also underlined that the listing has no practical banking impact inside Iraq.

“More importantly, Hezbollah and the Houthis do not have financial or banking accounts in Iraqi banks for us to impose sanctions or freezes on,” he said. “And even if they did have accounts in Iraq, could Iraqi banks even execute transfers for them? They could not, due to U.S. sanctions. We cannot even transfer payments for Iranian gas, let alone transfers for Hezbollah.”

The remarks follow days of political fallout and intense pressure after Hezbollah and the Houthis appeared in Issue 4848 of the official gazette under Decision No. 61 of 2025. The Communications Ministry said its representative on the Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets was “on leave” when the decision was taken, while the Central Bank committee said an unedited draft had been sent for publication by mistake and would be corrected. The Presidency also said it had no role in or prior knowledge of the decision.

Public anger included a protest by Kataib Hezbollah supporters outside the Iraq Media Network building in Baghdad on Friday. Sudani has ordered an investigation into how the draft list reached the gazette.

“There is political exploitation of an administrative error,” he said in the interview, adding that Iraq’s “official, political, governmental, and popular position is clear and publicly known” on regional armed groups and causes.

Excerpts from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s interview with AlRabiaa TV:

Regarding the designation of Hezbollah and the Houthis, no decision was issued by the Cabinet, the National Security Council, or by me personally. There is a committee formed to combat money laundering under Law No. 39 of 2025, chaired by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. It receives dozens of international communications as part of its routine work from its counterparts—money-laundering units in other countries. These communications contain names of individuals and entities subject to UN Security Council resolutions. It is not this committee, nor this country, that designates them; rather, these are Security Council decisions placing those entities and individuals on sanctions lists.

The standard procedure in handling these communications is that we adopt only the entities linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. This has been the committee’s practice for years, and we have not faced problems because the sanctions on Hezbollah and the Houthis are not new, nor has anything new been issued. What happened is that this list passed through the committee and was forwarded in full to the official gazette without filtering out these organizations. We do not have a political stance against Hezbollah or the Houthis; on the contrary, we have supportive positions toward all movements of liberation and struggle against occupation and injustice. Our stance cannot be outbid by the spiteful or the clowns. There was an administrative error, and we will uncover its reasons and announce the results.

In conclusion, I say that there is no state decision to classify Hezbollah or the Houthis as terrorist organizations.

More importantly, Hezbollah and the Houthis do not have financial or banking accounts in Iraqi banks for us to impose sanctions or freezes on. And even if they did have accounts in Iraq, could Iraqi banks even execute transfers for them? They could not, due to U.S. sanctions. We cannot even transfer payments for Iranian gas, let alone transfers for Hezbollah.

There is political exploitation of an administrative error. Our official, political, governmental, and popular position is clear and publicly known.